Sack of Saint-Estephe

The Sack of Saint-Estephe occured in 1654 when a force of pirates and some English soldiers landed on the island of Saint-Estephe, a colony of the Kingdom of France, and burnt it to the ground.

Attack
In 1654, a Royal Navy frigate, caravel, and galleon departed from England's colony Port Morgan and headed west towards Saint-Estephe, intending to plunder the French colony. A group of around 40 pirates and English musketeers disembarked from the caravel and killed the Duc de Champlain as he scouted along the shre, and they headed inland to search for the French settlement. When they reached the northern tip of the island, the party began to torch a French outpost, whose sharpshooter killed one of the pirates. However, the English succeeded in razing the building to prevent further losses, and the pirates and soldiers went on to burn the town center. The pirates showed cruelty towards the civilians, massacring the panicking civilians as they tried to flee; the soldiers burnt down the town center and other nearby buildings. The French were forced to surrender, abandoning the settlement and allowing the pirates to plunder it.